1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for the transfer of rod-shaped or rod-like articles, in particular cigarettes, from a longitudinal conveyor for longitudinal-axial conveying of the articles onto a transverse conveyor for transverse-axial conveying of the articles. The apparatus includes a conveyor to receive the articles from the longitudinal conveyor and to deliver the articles to the transverse conveyor. Moreover, the conveyor is designed to rotate the articles by a predetermined angle and to reduce the transport speed of the articles. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for the transfer of rod-like articles, in particular cigarettes, from a longitudinal conveyor for longitudinal-axial conveying of the articles onto a transverse conveyor for transverse-axial conveying of the articles.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Apparatuses and methods of the type mentioned are used particularly in the tobacco-processing industry. Furthermore, in a continuous cigarette rod-making machine, strands of tobacco are produced which are usually divided into tobacco sticks having single or preferably double cigarette length. The tobacco sticks are conveyed in their longitudinal direction and have to be transferred for further transport or for further processing, for example for applying a filter, on a filter-application machine. For this purpose, the tobacco sticks usually have to be transferred from their longitudinal-axial transport direction into a transverse-axial transport direction.
Various apparatuses and methods for the transfer of rod-like articles from a longitudinal conveyor onto a transverse conveyor are known. For example, the known apparatuses have a conveyor, which is designed to receive the articles from the longitudinal conveyor. The conveyor is designed such that the main function of the apparatus, namely the braking of the articles, takes place during a rotation of the conveying element by 90°. Additionally, the conveyor is designed to deliver the articles to the downstream transverse conveyor. In a method of using the apparatus, the articles are taken from the longitudinal conveyor at strand speed, wherein the axial strand speed is completely reduced before the articles are delivered and radially accelerated to the downstream transverse conveyor. This braking or acceleration process is carried out, as is known, along the transport path of the articles on the conveyor of 90°, which leads to a considerable stress due to high (positive and negative) accelerations of the articles. However, the forces acting in axial direction of the articles in particular are undesirable since they lead to damage, for example so-called head loss in tobacco sticks.
An intermediate conveyor, which is designed as a flat-bed conveyor, is known from WO 99/56568. Transport elements, which co-operate with a closed conveying system, are arranged on the flat-bed conveyor, wherein the closed conveying system has a track having different radii. Receiver heads for the cigarettes as part of the transport elements of the intermediate conveyor follow the closed conveying system, namely the conveying track. Additionally, a speed change is thus achieved so that the cigarettes are received at a first speed, rotated during transport and delivered at a second speed which is lower than the first speed. This intermediate conveyor is, however, very complex in construction and the articles to be transported, that is in particular the cigarettes, are exposed in their axial direction during braking or acceleration to forces, since the rotation of the cigarettes and the braking of the cigarettes take place in a superimposed movement, so that the cigarettes are stressed in their axial direction. Furthermore, this intermediate conveyor facilitates only a limited transfer capacity which is no match for the requirements or the possible capacities of modern continuous cigarette rod-making machine.